BUSINESS BRIEFING / INTERNET

Facebook Inc. has been sued by an advertiser alleging that the website charged it more than was appropriate based on the number of users clicking on its ads.

The lawsuit, brought by Unified ECM Inc. of Beverly Hills, alleges that Facebook isn’t doing enough to monitor or prevent “click fraud.” Such fraud occurs when a person or company clicks on a competitor’s ad to inflate the number of visits on which bills are based.

Unified ECM seeks class action status for the suit, filed in federal court in San Jose. It argues that it was “wrongfully charged for nonexistent, fraudulent or invalid clicks.”

Facebook did not comment.